my idea for EON for James Bond's future

[Peyton Westlake]

If there really is a public outcry for changing Bond's ethnicity, my idea for EON to solve the race debate for Bond goes like this.
Bring back Craig for 1 more entry.
The story will have Bond admit he needs assistance, showing him put his massive ego aside.
The story introduces a fellow agent , 006,008,009,etc.
Have that agent be another ethnicity other than white or male.
Have EON find a credible writer to flesh out this 'new' agent and make him or her as engaging as Bond.
This could set up a another character in a shared 'Bond' universe and extend the brand.
The next movie or 'mission' would solely feature the new agent.
It would also give EON time to find a replacement for Craig as the new 007.
Why change Bond at all?
Create this new agent to rival or even surpass him in popularity with a fresh start?
Dont copy Bond, make somone original with a different ethnicity to be better right from the start.

 

[Vaibow]

If there really is a public outcry for changing Bond's ethnicity, my idea for EON to solve the race debate for Bond goes like this.
Bring back Craig for 1 more entry.
The story will have Bond admit he needs assistance, showing him put his massive ego aside.
The story introduces a fellow agent , 006,008,009,etc.
Have that agent be another ethnicity other than white or male.
Have EON find a credible writer to flesh out this 'new' agent and make him or her as engaging as Bond.
This could set up a another character in a shared 'Bond' universe and extend the brand.
The next movie or 'mission' would solely feature the new agent.
It would also give EON time to find a replacement for Craig as the new 007.
Why change Bond at all?
Create this new agent to rival or even surpass him in popularity with a fresh start?
Dont copy Bond, make somone original with a different ethnicity to be better right from the start.

I agree, 100% reimagining Bond, changing him up too much, well, it's not Bond.

I have said this a million times and people still don't seem to grasp it.

My take. James Bond is in the Royal Navy, the government has it's MI6, M is the head, they have oo agents. They have (i would say) about 9 agents, top of their game, all specialists, so naturally we have oo1 - oo9. The oo is literally an assigned code. oo1 could be an expert in linguistics as well as other skills, oo6 could be great on inter nation affairs and politics.
Bond is tapped us a possible replacement/addition to the oo group. We see the interview process, training, we see him join the oo's - he isn't assigned a number yet. An older oo, oo7 to be exact, played by Elba is training him up and they are out on a mission, oo7 gets killed in the line of duty, Bond takes the mantel.

This settles the often argued 'is Bond a code name', no it isn't - he is a real person, oo7 is just an assigned code. Therefor, anyone can be oo7, but not everyone can be James Bond.

This allows a great universe to be created. Think about it, Jason bourne could have easily been working for MI6 and have the code name oo3 - would it have taken away from the movie? Not at all.
Ethan Hawke - oo8.
Johnny English.... ok let's not go there.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

I agree, 100% reimagining Bond, changing him up too much, well, it's not Bond.



This settles the often argued 'is Bond a code name', no it isn't - he is a real person, oo7 is just an assigned code. Therefor, anyone can be oo7, but not everyone can be James Bond.

Very good idea and explanation. This is the progressive thinking the Bond handlers need for the future. Also, Thank you for the support Vaibow.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

I think expanding on Vaibow's idea earlier, I could see a story line where Elba is a handler or training officer specifically for the 007 agent.
That would allow him entry into the Bond world w/out having to be cast as Bond.
Elba's character could also mentor another agent, 006 or 008 , which could be the launching pad for another agent in the series.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

Also, they could use Elba as the handler or training officer for new '00' agents and could finally shed some light on different recruits getting '00' status.
Possibly even show Craig's Bond on screen at the end retiring and showing the new successor being awarded the 007 mantle by Elba.

 

[Vaibow]

Also, they could use Elba as the handler or training officer for new '00' agents and could finally shed some light on different recruits getting '00' status.
Possibly even show Craig's Bond on screen at the end retiring and showing the new successor being awarded the 007 mantle by Elba.

I like the idea of a reboot, younger actor getting recruited - say Cavill. He is totally old school and queen and country - pretty much how he comes across in real life. Elba could be oo6 - they get paired up, oo6 mentoring - Elba knocks some sense into him, teaches him all he knows. Obviously bond knows a lot, but he has to learn something. oo6 get's injured, is office bound and eventually replaces M. With good writing you can have a universe - even a netflix series of oo agents with Elba as M - spooks, the wire, luthor, it's not hard to do.
There world is changing, threats are different now, but different in a way that bond & oo's are needed more than ever.

But what i want to see, is i want to see Bond's private life, what does he do on that week off - surely he goes and splurges and enjoys himself, why? it may well be his last week alive. Is there that special someone that he keeps pushing away? Does he have friends and loved ones, does he live a lonely life and yearn for friends but knows he can't - it's all interesting right.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

His private life could read something like 'the most interesting man in the world' from Dos Equis.
They could even work that in to the script to plug Dos Equis.

Think of Bond having a cold brew while entertaining a crowd at a bar with a story or showing off a skill.
Someone asks the bartender who is he.
The bartender simply replies, " Well if you believe him, the most interesting man in the world."

 

[Pink Ranger]

But what i want to see, is i want to see Bond's private life, what does he do on that week off - surely he goes and splurges and enjoys himself, why? it may well be his last week alive. Is there that special someone that he keeps pushing away? Does he have friends and loved ones, does he live a lonely life and yearn for friends but knows he can't - it's all interesting right.

In his spare time, Bond puts on old sweatpants and plays Elder Scrolls in 12 hour increments.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

I picture a scene where a newly recruited '00' agent is sitting in a club lounge, listening to veteran agents tell their war stories back and forth....and it shows former '007' agents like Connery,Dalton,Brosnan boasting about their adventures ...acknowledging '007' is a field name passed down from one generation to the next.

 

[Vaibow]

I picture a scene where a newly recruited '00' agent is sitting in a club lounge, listening to veteran agents tell their war stories back and forth....and it shows former '007' agents like Connery,Dalton,Brosnan boasting about their adventures ...acknowledging '007' is a field name passed down from one generation to the next.

No, because then it will confuse people - is James Bond a code name too? Even if it wasn't in continuity and they had Moore play John Smith, oo7 it will still take you out of the movie. Having M be a former oo7 an that can reinstate that oo7 is generally given to the best.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

No, because then it will confuse people - is James Bond a code name too? Even if it wasn't in continuity and they had Moore play John Smith, oo7 it will still take you out of the movie. Having M be a former oo7 an that can reinstate that oo7 is generally given to the best.

It can be revealed that the name 'James Bond' is an alias. A ghost name, just a fake identity. I mean think about it....who is going to spy & infiltrate organizations & go around saying I'm Bond. James Bond.

 

[Roose Bolton]

That's something EON will never do and makes no sense given the series history.

 

[Vaibow]

It can be revealed that the name 'James Bond' is an alias. A ghost name, just a fake identity. I mean think about it....who is going to spy & infiltrate organizations & go around saying I'm Bond. James Bond.

No, James Bond is a real person. It's oo7 that is just a code. You do that and it totally disrespects the character.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

No, James Bond is a real person. It's oo7 that is just a code. You do that and it totally disrespects the character.

Yeah, it is very well established by this point that James Bond is his real name. It isn't like James Bond is just a generic secret agent with an unknown history.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

Yes I know his name is established and not a code name.
But why not shake it up and try something new?

My point is.....so we are just going to recast the character again (rolls eyes) and just come up with another retread mission (rolls eyes) ?

Why not reboot AND reinvent Bond at the same time?
Or at least introduce another 00 agent that has some character rivaling Bond and could spin off to his/her own missions?

 

[Roose Bolton]

Every James Bond film opens with "(Actor's name) as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007".
Ian Fleming did not create James Bond to be a title that's passed on from person to person, he created an individual like Sherlock Holmes. EON will not, and should not, radically move away from that.

 

[KillerMcQueen]

Bond has survived for so long because of consistency and following tradition, the films are very much products of their time, but there are certain things that have been unchanged throughout almost every Bond film, people don't want some spinoff about another agent that isn't Bond, they don't want a pretender going around with the 007 title or using Bond's name, they want James Bond, they should just do what the franchise did successfully for decades before Craig and recast, and just keep making Bond films. Bond simply isn't a character that needs an overhaul, just the occasional update, We don't need a reboot/another origin film (A spy film starring a lead of a different ethnicity should be able to stand on its own, and not have to rely on the Bond connection), just another fun and bada** Bond adventure, let the new actor establish himself and the film should just be presented as if the actor had always been Bond.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Yes I know his name is established and not a code name.
But why not shake it up and try something new?

My point is.....so we are just going to recast the character again (rolls eyes) and just come up with another retread mission (rolls eyes) ?

Why not reboot AND reinvent Bond at the same time?
Or at least introduce another 00 agent that has some character rivaling Bond and could spin off to his/her own missions?

Because it would be incredibly stupid to completely reinvent a beloved film icon that has been highly successful for over 50 years and continues to be. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

Ok I see the side most are in with reinventing Bond so I amicably concede.
What about having one concession?
What if we are introduced to a 007 agent in the begining of a new movie who is not Bond.
It shows him from start to finish, go thru the steps of the mission as another parallel story shows a young Bond working his way thru MI6 or Royal Naval reserve.
At the conclusion, the current 007 retires and they introduce him to his successor at the end. A young cocky James Bond who they draft in his place.

 

[Lord]

Trying to change a long-extablished protagonist by someone completely new rarely works, and it will be even trickier with a franchise that's 50+ years old right now. Just cast someone like Idris Elba to shake things up and try making the best James Bond film you can.

People always seem to ponder upon the future of the franchise once it's hit by a disapointment. I mean, after Quantum of Solace, it took a while to get the ball rolling on Skyfall, and various rumors and ideas were being thrown around, i remember one of them actualy being that the leader of the Quantum organization would be a woman. Then Skyfall came out and pretty much refreshed the franchise again, only for Spectre to later on put it's future on hold.

People constantly talk about the franchise needing a shake-up, but to be honest, that's pretty much what the entire Daniel Craig era is. Sure, it follows some of the same structure of past films, but i think it's done in a bit less than past instalments. I mean, looking at films 11-20, the entire formula doesn't seem to change in the slightest and most of the films ended up being pretty stagnant, while with 21-24, even the failures felt different from the other Bond films.

What seems to be the problem is that these new films have been failing at their serialized storylines. It's obvious that every new film isn't thinking about the next one, so, when Spectre revealed all previous events were connected, it didn't make much sense. Some fans will say EON should drop the idea of serialized storyteling, but i disagree. Films like Dr.No, From Russia With Love and Casino Royale were among the greatest, yet, they also had a larger plot thread looming in the background.

They should just sit down with the next Bond actor and plan what they want to tell for the next 3-5 films, while leaving enough room for the writers to make stories that also work alone.

 

[DrCosmic]

So, because there has been so much discussion of Elba as Bond, casting him as The Black Mentor Training A White Superstar to Surpass Him trope is a pretty heavy backhand both personally and culturally. Just have him be 006, and carry the franchise a bit until a new James Bond is brought in. Don't do the young upstart James Bond thing and put yourself in a place where you have to re-do the origin. Let a new actor play the Craig Bond or a Timeless Bond and keep it moving. Maybe someone's killing double-os, but then you're kinda going a bit Kingsman...

There is a way to do the James Bond codename, even though it's obviously the Craig character's real name, perhaps something happens to him and he's replaced by someone who is then given his name as a cover in order to keep the mystique of the name or something, and he then 'earns' it somehow.

 

[Lord]

Why not just let Elba be the next James Bond? Having a 006 or 008 carryin the franchise just seems pointless and will get them negative publicity for going through the troubles of creating a new spy in order to not give the main role to Elba.

No need to re-do the origin, just continue from where Craig's Bond was left.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Elba's not that much younger than Craig, and they're making these films in four year intervals now. He's too old to have much of a run on the character at this point.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

There was never a time where making Bond a code name was ever going to be embraced by the masses or EON or even casual fans. It's us, as always, the nerd/fanboys who put way too much thought about how everything could and should be totally "logical" and holistic in some way.


It's a movie series about FAKE spy adventures. There's no need for any type of explanation of Bond.

And that's the biggest issue with the code name idea.

There is no need for it. It answers a question nobody ever really asks when enjoying Bond on film. It's midichlorian in it's level of "99% of people have accepted the way this thing has been presented. They get it. No need to waste time with an explanation to a question no one is asking."



All that said... I would still watch a film with this idea. Shocker... I can find and aspect of a film not to my liking but if the other elements were enjoyable then overall I would like the film regardless. It would neither make the film or break it for me. I just prefer it as they have done it for decades now.

 

[Brian Braddock]

Hate the codename idea with a passion; always have and always will. It seems to only give service with those who cannot grasp the concept of recasting with loose continuity. It makes me recall when Norton was replaced by Ruffalo as Banner - one guy on here just couldn't get round the idea of the recast so much that he was adamant that they needed to have a line in the script saying that Banner had undergone plastic surgery to explain to the audience why he looked different (!).